Says, Oba Akinruntan’s accounts were full of inaccuracies and false claims

A prominent Oba in Ilaje land, His Royal Majesty Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, the Olu of Igbokoda has described the Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan as the traitor who out of greed, lust for women and inability to keep secrets, betrayed the his people instead of attributing the act of treachery to Moremi. He also described as false and misleading the claim of Oba Akinruntan that he is the legitimate Ooni of Ile-Ife

“If he is the Ooni, let him go to Ife-Ife and occupy the throne. He should go there and chase the people away”, Oba Odidiomo said. Both Oba Akinruntan and Oba Odidi occupy exalted royal seats in Ilaje. He advised traditional rulers to watch what they say adding that at the moment, the place of the Ooni in Yoruba and world history cannot be rubbished by anyone.
The intervention of Oba Odidiomo is the most profound coming from any prominent Oba in Ondo State where the Olugbo comes from. He spoke with Irohinoodua in an exclusive interview yesterday.
Oba Odidiomo said the revelations of the prowess and sacred powers of the Ugbo people to Moremi by the Olugbo was the height treachery against sacred culture and norms of the Ugbo people which eventually led to the defeat of the Ugbo.
“We must understand the dialectics of history. Moremi had a mission to liberate his people. The Olugbo out of his greed for women fell in love with her. He went ahead to reveal the secrets of his people which was the height of betrayal. In Yoruba culture, it is sacrilegious to reveal the secrets of the Oro to women, but that was exactly what the Olugbo did. He therefore betrayed his people. It was that betrayal by the Olugbo that led to the escape of a sophisticated spy who had conducted espionage on the enemies of his people. She left all the lucre and wealth she was offered by Ugbo to return to her fatherland and even painfully sacrificed her only son as promised’, the Oba said.
The raging controversy over the role of Moremi in Yoruba history snowballed into another storm: Who is the supreme Oba in Yorubaland?
Oba Odidiomo faulted the claim of the Olugbo as the ‘real Ooni” saying that his accounts were full of inaccuracies and false claims.
He said the title of the current Olugbo is “Obamakin” which negates the primacy of “Orunmakin” adding that for the Olugbo to bear the title “Osangangan” shows that the title came after the original accolade of “kutukutu” which indicated the earliest of royal tradition. He said since the Olugbo admitted that there were 13 automous Kingdoms at Ile-Ife at the time, it was wrong for the Olugbo to lay claim to being the paramout ruler when at the time there was no supreme community at Ife.
He said the argument of the Olugbo was partly informed by his lack of understanding of the fact that there were two epochs in Ife history, being Ife Odeaye and Ife Ooye. He said Olugbo seems to be referring to a period before the title Ooni was adopted at Ile Ife.
Oba Odidi, the paramount ruler and prescribed authority of Igbokoda Ilaje Kingdom declared that it was the Olugbo, who was a traitor and not Moremi.
The Olugbo had earlier carpeted the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, for honouring Moremi Ajasoro as a heroine and subsequently declared that he was the original head of the early Ife Kingdom before the arrival of Oduduwa and therefore, the rightful owner of the Ooni title.
Oba Ogunwusi recently built a tower, described as the third highest in Africa, in memory of Moremi Ajasoro, a wife of Ooni Oranyan who sacrificed herself and her only child in exchange for freedom for her people.
Oba Odidiomo argued that it was Olugbo who actually gave out his own people by revealing the age-long tradition and secrets of his own kingdom and people to a beautiful woman, out of greed and covetousness.
According to the Igbokoda monarch, the Ugbo raid on Ile-Ife which he claimed was masterminded by the Olugbo was essentially to steal goods of Ife traders on market days so as to have things to feed on.
“The Ugbo information he gave out was a sacrilege. It was Olugbo that betrayed his people through the classified information he divulged”, he said.
Oba Odidiomo who queried Olugbo’s claim to supremacy disclosed that the original title of the real Olugbo was ‘Kutukutu’ and not ‘Osangangan’, adding that the latter was junior to the former.
“If Olugbo said that there were 13 autonomous kingdoms in Ife at the time, was Olugbo playing supervisory role over them?, he queried.
The Olu of Igbokoda observed that the Olugbo could not distinguish between Ife Oodaye and Ife Ooye.
Kutukutu Orunmakin, he argued, meant “Heaven knows the brave” while Osangangan Obamakin – king knows the brave – was a latter day king adding that Olufe was the head of Ife Oodaye and not Olugbo.
Oba Odidiomo said Igbokoda came from Mahin which is led by the most respected Royal Oba Alametu of Mahin Kingdom. He said they all came from Ora Quarters in Ile-Ife several centuries ago.

 

By Olatunde Adeyege